The native Algonquin Indians named it the Strawberry Moon for the short picking wild strawberries window of picking the juicy sweet berry and in Victorian England it was always called the Rose Moon and later because all the weddings, the Honey Moon.
By June all the birds which migrate southward for the winter months have appeared in their summer haunts farther north, and are busily engaged in the domestic adventure of raising a family. If you are fortunate enough to live in the country, or in outskirts of a small town, you can fill this whole month's spare time with the keen pleasure of discovery, simply by making a June list of the kinds of birds, flowers, trees , animals or fishes in your neighborhood- say within a quarter of a mile of your home.
This past two years I have kept track of thirty six different species of wild birds that our neighbor keeps attracting to me with his 365 day bird feeders that he maintains daily. I keep the vernal pond open for watering and for my fasination with the gray, green, wood frogs or sometimes referred to as spring peepers, salamanders and bull frogs in their 12 month cycle which I will write about in future essays. This is what I term, my lay of the land. Start your own list and I guaranty you will find as many. Any place that offers a fair chance to the native birds will keep you busy counting nests in June.
In my childhood on the Barber farm in the flower garden ( Victory Garden) between the farm house and the orchard I remember nesting indigo buntings and a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks that my Grandmother Ester pointed out to me from her Bird Guide book. In the thick underbrush we found chewinks, thrashers, black and white warblers, song sparrows and a pair of partridges. In the old orchard there were a half dozen robbin's nests, two bluebird nests and one each of the tree swallow, flickers, yellow warblers, chebec, downy woodpecker, kingbirds, great chested flycatchers, redstart and a unforgettable screech owl.
Baltimore Orioles built their hanging nests across the road near the old sheds. Down by the old deserted cranberry bogs were nests of catbirds and beautiful red-winged balckbirds that came back every year. Over in the commercial garden big lot were a population of Maryland yellow throats one summer that never returned. Blue jays, chickadee and crows were always making noise somewhere on the farm.
June also offers you a new hobby of the many wild flowers blooming, butterflies or trees that make their budding, then blooming appearance.
Great time to mentor a grandchild , immigrant or young person to the nature around us in New England.
Yes, June is the high tide of the year's life. Whether you are interested in birds, animals, flowers, butterflies, trees or peepers you will be kept busy this month, and if you go upon your walks armed with even a little knowledge of what to look for, you will enjoy your stroll much more, and besides, you will have a store of summer memories far richer than you ever had before.
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